In Los Angeles federal court on Monday, Judge R. Gary Klausner rejected those arguments, saying he had found the lawsuit had enough merit to go to trial and there was no evidence the plaintiff "harboured nefarious motives."

The trust for the late Randy Wolfe -- who performed under the name Randy California -- failed to prove back in June a claim that guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant stole the riff for "Stairway" from "Taurus," an instrumental Wolfe wrote as a member of the band Spirit.

The plaintiff's attorney has appealed the jury's verdict in the Led Zeppelin case.